Those in attendance at the Allianz Riviera were treated to an entertaining start to proceedings, as the two sides both threatened to break the deadlock in the opening 10 minutes. Thomas Meunier’s flicked header from a near-post corner forced Nice goalkeeper Yehvann Diouf into a smart reaction save, shortly before Tiago Gouveia curled a left-foot shot just wide at the opposite end of the pitch.
The half started to settle down before Lille shot-stopper Arnaud Bodart carelessly gave away a penalty, clattering Kevin Carlos after sliding past the ball on the greasy turf.
Bodart was unable to make amends for his error, diving to his right as Diop clipped his perfect Panenka attempt straight down the middle to score his sixth goal in 10 league appearances, matching his overall tally from the 2024/25 Ligue 1 campaign.
Diop’s spot-kick ensured the hosts went into the break with a lead for the fourth time in six home league games this season, leaving the visitors with work to do in the second period.
Bruno Genesio’s charges quickly established control of possession after the restart, but they found it difficult to create clear-cut opportunities against a stubborn Nice backline. As the contest drifted past the 80-minute mark, Genesio sent on veteran forward Olivier Giroud in one last throw of the dice on the French Riviera.
However, Giroud and Lille’s hopes of salvaging a point were quashed by Isak Jansson’s late effort. Nice regained possession from Bodart’s poor clearance, allowing Morgan Sanson to send Jansson racing into the box to fire home his first goal since joining Nice from Rapid Wien in the summer. As a result of the win, Franck Haise’s side move up to seventh and level on points with Lille in fifth spot.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Sofiane Diop (Nice)